BAKU EXPECTS YEREVAN’S RESPONSE: MINISTER (VIDEO)

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Oct 29 2007

Trend S.Agayeva / Official Baku expects the results of the OSCE Minsk
Group Co-chairs’ talks with the Head of Armenia. After talks in Baku
at the end of the last week, the OSCE Minsk Group’s French, US and
Russian Co-chairs went to Yerevan to continue the talks with the Head
of Armenia. "Yet it is early to say if the mediators could obtain
progresses in the conflict settlement. We expect to receive news
from them," the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov,
briefed the media on 29 October in Baku. In addition, the Minister
said that yet it is unclear where the next meeting of the Co-chairs
will take place. According to him, this time the Co-chairs did not
bring new proposals or initiatives. "Several issues and principles
still remain uncoordinated and the Co-chairs believe that they will
find compromise," he said. The Minister stressed that bilateral
meetings are not planned to be held by the elections. "However,
if the Co-chairs decide that the meetings of the Azerbaijani and
Armenian Foreign Ministers are in demand, we are prepared to go
to the meeting," Mammadyarov concluded. The conflict between the
two countries of the South Caucasus began in 1988 due to Armenian
territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since 1992, Armenian Armed
Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh
region and its seven surrounding districts. In 1994, Azerbaijan
and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active
hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia,
France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.